


The Crystal Bearers

by LillyJadye



Category: The Crystal Bearers
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Multi, Romance, powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:48:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24432337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillyJadye/pseuds/LillyJadye
Kudos: 3





	1. The Prologue

#  **[The Prologue]**

* * *

The small, 11-year-old boy looked around at the carriage he was surrounded with. The place he once called home, now set ablaze with desperate screams echoing around him. The boy wanted to run, but he couldn’t, his feet were planted in place. The boy looked up when a dark shadow was cast over him, before him was a tall, bulky figure covered head-to-toe in the most advanced armor the boy had ever seen.

“What’s your name?” The figure's deep, harsh voice spoke, the boy remained silent, he stared at the figure before him. 

“I said,” the figure grabbed the boy by his hair, “What. Is. Your. Name.” The figure boomed right into the boy’s ear. All the boy could do was cry. His home was being taken away from him, his brothers, sisters, aunt’s, uncles, his parents, everyone and everything he had ever known, stripped from him. 

The figure scoffed and dragged the boy by his hair out of the little village. The boy let himself be dragged, there was no way the boy would walk out of there on his own.

The boy was suddenly thrown onto the ground by the figure. The boy stood and saw his friends, brothers and cousins standing in a line, they looked at him urgently signalling him to stand next to them. He was smart enough to follow their informative eyes.

“Alright! As I come to you, I want you to give me your age, and your name. Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT hesitate or refuse. You will be killed immediately.” The man who spoke was loud, commanding and fearsome. The boy didn’t bother to look up at what he thought was the leader, if he did look up, the boy would begin to cry again. 

The leader walked along the line, starting at the opposite end to the boy, which he was thankful for, and asked each boy their age and name. All of them had complied as they feared for their lives, but they also feared what was to come.

“Hm.. you seem small. What is your name and age?” The leader spoke to the boy. The boy was short and skinny for his age, when compared to his relatives. He was, however, incredibly quick on his feet and an excellent problem solver.

“M-My name is Alexander Reid, Sir. I am 11-years-old.” Alexander cursed at himself for stuttering, before he could think of another insult the leader spoke.  
“Alexander is quite a long name. I suppose you have a… shorter version?” Alexander nodded. His friends and family called him Alex, although he had many nicknames. 

“Well? What is it?” The leader was growing tired of the silence. Alex opened his mouth to speak when there was a blood curdling scream. Everyone’s heads snapped to the noise, it came from the village which was very much on fire. The leader cursed and gathered everyone up and loaded them into what looked to be army trucks.

As they were driving away, Alex looked out the back window to his home. He watched as the only safe place he had ever known, burnt to the ground.

* * *


	2. The Unknown

#  [Chapter One - The Unknown]

* * *

**~Four Years Later~**

Alex, now 15 years old, walked through the halls of The Crystal Bearer’s base. It was an extreme improvement to his home village which had wooden houses and no electricity. He made his way to the mess hall, as he neared one of the most used places in the base, he could hear hundreds of voices, it was almost deafening. 

When he turned the corner to go into the mess hall, he collided with something, or someone, with a grunt. 

“Watch where you’re going asshole!” A voice spoke, they were definitely mad at being bumped into, Alex had been so focused on food that he wasn’t watching where he was going. 

“S-Sorry. I d-didn’t mean to..” Alex almost whispered, he wasn’t as well built as everyone else, he certainly wasn’t as tall. He was only 5 feet 6 inches compared to everyone else who was well above 6 feet tall. Alex looked at the person he pumped into, only to find Simon, a teenager around his age staring back. Simon was tall, and lean, despite his appearance, Simon was one of the strongest people in the training program, Alex being one of the weakest. 

“Yeah, right. You always seem to be causing trouble Little Ali. If I were you, I would watch where I was going.” Simon sneered as he walked past Alex, bumping his shoulder while doing so. Alex sighed and continued into the mess hall. 

Once in line to get food, Alex’s mood brightened slightly, he was starving from all the training he had been doing. Once at the front of the line, the woman handing out the food handed Alex his portion with a bored look on her face. 

“Thank you, Miss.” Alex spoke softly to her, her eyes widened at him in surprise, she gave him a small smile in return before giving the next person their food. Alex then moved towards an empty table and sat down with his food tray. He stared at the food in front of him, there was mashed potato, bacon, scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast, and a glass of orange juice. Once he made sure it looked good enough to eat, he dug in, eating as much as possible before they were called for another training session. 

Just as Alex finished his food, the commander, known only as ‘Reaper’, walked into the mess hall.

“You have exactly twenty minutes to be in the training hall! If you are not there, you will be punished severely!” Reaper boomed through the mess hall, he then turned on his heel and walked away. If a pin were to be dropped, it would be heard throughout the base, the 300+ people in the mess hall were silent, they were pondering on what to do. After a few seconds, Alex grabbed his tray and put it with the other dirty trays and walked out of the mess hall, of which people were whispering. Alex made his way to the Dormitories for trainees, that’s what he liked to call them anyway, they were called something completely absurd so he never bothered to remember. 

When Alex finally made it to his dorm, he went straight towards his dresser and opened up the top draw. It was full to the brim with camo shirts and long thick khaki pants, Alex grabs a shirt, and a pair of pants, as he closes the draw, his eye catches something. All he does is stare at it, it is a picture of him and all of his family standing out the front of the school that was in the village. Alex smiled at the memories as they flooded his mind, he heard the laughter and heard their voices saying how proud they were of him. Since the day his village was raided, he hasn’t seen anyone from there, he suspects it’s because they were taken to different bases under The Crystal Bearers name. Alex shook the thoughts from his mind and continued to get changed.

Once he was in the appropriate training clothing, he looked at his wrist watch, he still had ten minutes to get to the training hall. Alex decided to make his way to the training hall while he still had time, he didn’t want to be late. If he was late, he would be punished severely and he didn’t want to find out how. Most of the people who were dragged away after being late, didn’t return. 

Before Alex knew it, he was standing at the large doors of the training hall. He looked at his watch, three minutes. Alex looked back at the doors that stood before him, they seemed to loom over his tiny body. Before Alex could open the doors himself, Reaper opened them and looked down at Alex. 

“Ah, Reid. Always the early one.” Reaper spoke, it almost sounded as though he was proud of Alex. Before Alex could reply, Reaper stepped aside and motioned for him to enter, Alex didn’t hesitate with entering the training hall. The hall was made up of three obstacle courses, varying in difficulty along with the required skills. Alex was still on the first level which required strength. 

“Since you’re early, you can start training now.” Reaper ordered, Alex was one of the only trainees there, he saw maybe two or three other trainees, but they were on level three, which requires stealth, speed, strength, and agility. Alex looked to Reaper and nodded and made his way over to the first obstacle course.

“Not that one.” Reaper called, making Alex stop in his tracks. “Try level two.” Reaper continued. Alex simply nodded and turned to make his way to level two. 

The second level focused on speed, and stealth, in some places agility but it wasn’t a main focus. Alex had never even thought of doing the second obstacle course. He stood at the beginning of the course, the lights turned on over the course, meaning he was the first to use the course that day.

“Please get into a ready position.” a female robotic voice spoke, Alex did as the voice told him to do. Once he was in position, the lights flashed red, then yellow, the green, signalling him to go. 

Alex ran into the course at an incredible speed, he was also almost completely silent as he ran. The second course was a maze with traps, and enemies throughout, the goal being, to avoid the traps, and silently take out the enemies without the others noticing. Alex came to a stop when he reached a wide space, he looked around, catching his breath slightly. He noticed a table with a variety of close range weapons on it, there were also a few long range weapons. Alex walked along the long table, studying each weapon carefully as he knew there wasn’t a time limit to complete the course. He settled on throwing knives, two hunting knives, and a small, thin dagger. Alex then put on a weapon belt and stored his weapons of choice away. 

He walked around the space, looking for an exit. Alex remained silent the entire time, making sure to keep at full attention, he needed to be able to hear if anything was nearby, or see if there was a difference in the wall, floor, or even the ceiling. He did two laps around the edge of the space before moving towards the centre area close to where the weapon table was. Alex walked around the area, crouching down in spots to examine anything he saw. He then looked under the weapon table and it clicked.

“Of course!” He exclaimed under his breath. He carefully moved the table, and examined the floor beneath. Alex smiled to himself as he gripped a small handle and pulled. When the door was open, he peered down into the darkness, he could hear growls, and what sounded like claws against concrete. Alex leaned back and thought over the situation, if he went down, he would encounter enemies, if he didn’t go down, he’d fail. He looked at the weapons table and saw a small clip-on torch, he walked over to the table, grabbed the torch and attached it to his shirt, on his right shoulder. 

Alex once more looked down into the door, he turned on the torch and studied what he saw. There was a metal ladder that led down into another room that looked much like the one he was in, just darker, and scarier. Alex swallowed the lump he didn’t know was forming in his throat and began his descent down the ladder. He made sure to keep an ear out for any sounds that weren’t his own. 

Once Alex reached the bottom he turned off the torch, letting the darkness engulf him. He closed his eyes to listen to his surroundings, he could hear, very faintly, what sounded like claws tapping on concrete with a low growl every so often. Alex opened his eyes as he shivered at the thought of encountering whatever was ahead in the course. He wondered if any of this was legal, sending young teens into life threatening courses for training purposes… He shook his head to stay focused. 

Alex looked around him, despite the darkness, he could make out doorways that lead further into the course.    
“It’s a maze… Shit.” Alex whispered, he was terrible at mazes, he was worse when it was dark, with whatever the growls were coming from and traps on top of that? He might as well be shot in the head right there. Alex then remembered the torch and the weapons. One thing he knew about this course was that the creatures could not see, that’s why it was dark, they used their ears more than anything else. He wasn’t sure if they had a sense of smell, but he hoped they didn’t because he knew by how much he had been sweating, that he didn’t smell like roses. 

Alex sighed lightly and turned on the torch which illuminated the dark room. He was right to assume it was a maze, there were archways about three feet wide, and seven feet tall, all of them leading into what looked like the abyss. Alex walked to one of the archways, he studied the area and noticed scratches on the floor in the shape of an ‘X’. The marks were left here by someone before him, he walked to the next arch and noticed another ‘X’ etched into the ground. Alex continued around the arches until he came to one with an arrow facing towards the darkness. He smiled slightly, before realising it could be a trap left by the creators.. 

“Maybe.. It is a way to get out… but...” Alex spoke aloud to himself, maybe too loud. He stood in front of the arch for a few minutes, pondering his next move, when he heard it. He didn’t know what the sound was or what it came from, but it was a sound of death. It sounded like a howl from a wolf, mixed with a roar from a bear, with something otherworldly attached to it. What shook Alex to his core, wasn’t because of the sound, but because of where it came from, it was behind him. He cursed under his breath as he realised his mistake, he spoke in a normal tone, rather than a whispered one.

Alex turned around slowly and saw the beast before him. It stood at around six feet, the beast looked like an experiment gone horribly wrong. It looked as if a Bear, wolf, snake, and other predatory creatures had been combined. Most of the animals Alex didn’t recognise, giving him a better understanding of why the beast sounded so otherworldly. 

The beast growled in Alex’s direction, meaning it knew he was there, and where he was. He quickly realised he had two choices, he could either stay where he was, or run into the corridor behind him and follow the arrows that led to the end of the maze. Alex decided to run, he tried to be as quiet as possible, but he was being chased by a beast that wanted blood. 

Alex kept the torch turned on, but it was facing the ground so it was easier for him to see the arrows. The first arrow he came across pointed to the right, Alex came to a stop and listened to his surroundings, the beast was definitely after him. He could hear claws pounding into the cement, without missing a beat, Alex ran in the direction the arrow pointed. 

After following the arrows for what felt like hours, he came to a small wooden door. Alex opened it hurriedly as the beast was still after him, and went through. He made sure to close the door after him, there was no way the beast could get in as the door was just taller than Alex, and he was just over five foot. 

Once calm, Alex looked around the area he was in, he noticed that there was a light. He turned off the torch, letting the light fully take over, only it wasn’t an electric light, it was natural light. Smiling, Alex followed the light to a door that looked eerily similar to the one he entered with, only this one was more of an average size, and this door had a small window near the top, where the light was coming through. He opened the door and winced as he was almost blinded by the light. Once his eyes adjusted to the abundance of light, he was greeted with a large group of people, all astonished at the sight of him. Some of the people started clapping, which started a domino effect as everyone started clapping, some even cheering. Confusion washed over Alex, he saw Reaper walking towards him emotionless. Alex backed away slightly before Reaper flashed a sincere yet slightly terrifying smile, but it was gone just as quickly as it appeared. 

“Here we have Alexander Reid, the first one after many many years to complete the fourth level, known as, ‘The Maze’.” Alex was shocked, he looked up at Reaper who was looking over the crowd of people. 

“Wh-what? I thought that was Level.. Two? I thought that..” Alex tried to speak but he kept stumbling, Reaper faced him and placed his hands on Alex’s shoulders.

“I only told you that there were three levels to see how you would go with them. The fourth was a test for those who did not succeed on the other levels.” Reaper wasn’t as harsh with his words, he sounded more like a proud parent than a tyrannical commander.

“But.. all I did was-” Alex was cut off by Reaper raising his hand.

“That was the idea. You trusted your instincts, despite being in an extremely dangerous situation. Most don’t follow the arrows and end up not coming out alive. You made a split second decision and chose correctly.” Reaper spoke loudly, enough so the others could hear. Alex’s eyes widened, he succeeded at something others had failed, he proved his strength. 

“It means you’re ready.” Reaper spoke quietly, so only Alex could hear. 

“Ready for what?” Alex questioned. 

“To receive your first Crystal.” Reaper spoke in an almost normal tone. 

“What? But I-I don’t… I’m not… I don’t feel ready.” Alex looked down and brought his hands up. He stared at them and frowned. 

“I know you’re ready. You’ve done enough training for today, spend the rest of the day in your room.” Reaper didn’t ask Alex, he ordered, and Alex didn’t dare argue he simply nodded and walked away quickly, looking at the floor. He couldn’t believe that he was going to finally get a crystal. Getting a crystal was like receiving an award for excelling at something that you’d been working at for years and years. 

Once Alex got to his dorm, he opened the door and flung himself onto his bed, not bothering to take off any of the equipment he gained from Level Four. He was still in shock that there was a fourth level for those who are anomalies within the recruiting system. Alex started to think about the Crystals, he didn’t know much, only that there were twenty-eight different Crystals, three classes, and that there was a set limit of how many someone could have… but he didn’t know how many. Despite his lack of knowledge, he was excited none-the-less. Soon, Alex’s eyes fluttered closed as he fell into a deep and welcomed sleep.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I'm Lilly, the author of this...story? Novel? Project. Let's just call it a project. This is the first time I've posted more than just the prologue of something, and the first time I've been so excited to continue writing! I hope who ever reads this becomes just as invested in the characters, and the story as I am, because it's a wild ride!  
> If you're a little confused about the story so far, that's okay! It's supposed to be like that, you're learning with Alex, and more will be revealed as the plot progresses, so make sure you stay up-to-date! I'm also very new to posting my writing, so please bare with me here, this is also my first time writing in the 'Chapter Notes' section of ao3, so if it's long, I apologise.  
> I don't know how many chapters there will be, but I'm aiming for 20 or more chapters, depending how the timeline works out.  
> I am also open to any and all feedback! So, if there are any errors, please point them out, and I will fix them as soon as I can.  
> There will also be times that I won't post anything, but don't worry, I will post again! I have been working on this project for months, and I have always come back to it, even after a month or so of not even looking at it. I can honestly say that I am invested in this project, as I have connected with 'The Crystal Bearers' universe. 
> 
> You might also notice that some of the spelling is slightly off, I am Australian, so I will be using Australian English spelling rather than American English. 
> 
> On that note, I hope you enjoy reading this emotional rollercoaster as I post the chapters. I don't expect this to blow up or anything, I'm just here for the experience, and for a little bit of fun.
> 
> See you in the next chapter!


	3. The Ceremony

#  **[Chapter Two - The Ceremony]**

* * *

**~Two Months Later~**

Alex looked at himself in the full length mirror that was attached to one of the walls in the dorm. He was wearing a black tux with a plain grey undershirt, and a red tie. He was also wearing black dress shoes, with red socks but his socks were hidden by his pants. Alex was pulled from his thoughts as a knock sounded on the door, he turned around with a fright, before making his way over to the door he took a few deep breaths to attempt to calm his thumping heart. He then made his way to the door and opened it, Reaper was standing on the other side. He was in an equally formal tux, only the undershirt was black and his tiw was white. 

“Alexander Reid, it is time to go to the Auditorium.” Reaper spoke sternly, Alex nodded as he stepped out of the room and closed the door. Reaper nodded to Alex and walked further down the hall and knocked on the next door. Alex turned around and began his walk to the auditorium, the place where he will get his crystal and hear an absurd amount of speeches. 

Once at the large auditorium, Alex went to his assigned seat which he had memorised the day before. They had held a small rehearsal the day before so the recruits receiving a crystal would know where to sit and how to come onto the stage. Alex looked around the auditorium, it could fit well over 1,000 people, but there were only 100 to 200 sitting in seats. Everyone there was going to receive a crystal, which is only a small number compared to how many recruits had been there when Alex first started.

After waiting for what seemed like hours, the lights dimmed and Reaper stepped onto the stage. He started his speech about how they had all improved since the day the recruits had started training. Reaper then went on to explain how the recruits would be receiving their crystals, after the explanation, he started to call people up to the stage. 

“Simon Baird, please come to the stage.” Reaper boomed through the auditorium, Simon moved quickly to the stage. It was no surprise to Alex that Simon was going to receive a crystal. Simon was incredibly strong, just as fast, and knew his way around any form of weapon there was. Simon was wearing a grey tux with a white undershirt, Alex then noticed that Simon wasn’t wearing a tie, which was a mandatory item… Alex shrugged off the thought and continued to study Simon, his dress shoes were bage, and from what Alex could see, Simon was wearing black socks.

“Stand on the tape… thank you… Bring out the crate!” Reaper guided Simon into the right position as a large crate was pushed out. Simon was beaming, it was the first time Alex had seen him smile. Reaper walked over to the crate and opened it. There was a flash of colour, then a Dark Blue crystal appeared. Alex’s jaw dropped, the crystal was cylindrical with pointed ends, as Alex looked closer, he noticed the crystal was more of a hexagonal prism than a cylinder. The crystal floated towards Simon, who looked as if he was going to burst, Reaper stood near the crate watching Simon intently. Once the crystal reached Simon, it fell into his hands, Simon looked at Reaper as if to say ‘is that it?’, Reaper simply nodded, making Simon move off the stage before returning to his seat. Reaper continued through the recruits, going in alphabetical order.

“Alexander Reid, make your way to the stage.” Before Reaper could finish speaking, Alex was standing and making his way towards the stage. Alex was lucky enough to be seated only two or three seats away from the end of the row so he didn’t have to move in front of many people. Once Alex was on stage, Reaper guided him to a piece of fluro green tape. Alex didn’t look out at the audience, he wasn’t even smiling, he just stood on the tape anxiously playing with the hem of his tux. Alex looked up when he heard a crate being wheeled out, they had used two or three crates as there weren’t enough crystals in one crate. Reaper opened the crate, as soon as the lid was off, there was a bright light, brighter than anyone before Alex. Everyone shielded their eyes, all but Alex, he stared at the source of light, a white Crystal. The light slowly faded and a collection of gasps echoed through the auditorium. 

The crystal floated towards Alex, everyone watched in awe as the crystal landed in Alex’s outstretched hands. Alex looked at Reaper who was just as baffled as everyone else, after a few seconds Reaper nodded, and with that, Alex moved off the stage and back to his seat. He was fascinated by the crystal, he didn’t focus on the others getting their crystals, he focused on the one in front of him. 

Before Alex knew it, the ceremony was over and he was being ushered out of the auditorium. He put the white crystal into his pocket as he made his way out of the auditorium. Alex noticed that the other recruits were staring at him, not in a good way either. He couldn’t decipher the looks, they could be envious, spiteful… or any negative emotion. Alex did his best to ignore them, but it was hard, he wasn’t used to getting all this attention. He usually just blends into the background, never seen or heard. 

Alex was pulled out of his thoughts when the intercoms pieced through the base. 

“Alexander Reid to Commander Reaper’s Office immediately.” The voice spoke, even more eyes were on him now. Alex sighed and made his way to Reaper’s office as fast as he could without running. He had no idea what the commander wanted, but it couldn’t have been good. That was a given at this point, but Alex wouldn’t know until he got there.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It's been a while! I've been writing this chapter for a while... I was trying to figure out what to write, but got there eventually! There will be a few time skips throughout the first chapters as the main story hasn't started yet, well, the plot that I originally started with... the juicy plot is what I call it. 
> 
> This chapter is also a little shorter than I would like it to be. I tried making it longer, but it just wasn't working, so I decided to leave it where I did. There will most likely be short chapters in the future as well, they're normally filler chapters or chapters that lead into a larger one, like a lead up sort of thing. 
> 
> On another note, I want to know what you think of the story so far. Please speak your mind, I want to know what's working well, and what needs improvement.
> 
> It's also the last day of school for me today! So I'll most likely me writing a bit more for the next few weeks, but we'll have to wait and see. Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!


	4. Surprises

* * *

# [Chapter Three - Surprises]

* * *

  
  


Alex knocked on the wooden office door, there was a golden label that had ‘Commander Reaper’ in bold, capital letters. Alex stood awkwardly outside the door, not knowing what to do, he wondered if the Commander was in his office at all. 

“Come in Alexander.” Reaper’s voice was muffled by the door, but it still made a shiver run up Alex’s spine. He opened the door tentatively and entered the large, and rather grand office. Reaper sat at a large oak desk at the back of the office, facing the door, his seat was a sleek black which seemed to glow from the ceiling lights. Despite Reaper’s cold personality, the office was rather warm looking, it felt like home to Alex. More home than his dorm anyway. 

“Sit.” Reaper ordered, snapping Alex out of his thoughts. He did as he was told and sat on one of the light brown leather chairs in front of the oak desk. Alex felt his body tense as he sat down, trying not to look Reaper in the eyes.

“You’re not in trouble,” Alex let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he heard the words from Reaper’s mouth, before Reaper continued, “I just want to… discuss.. The crystal you received.” Reaper spoke in a rather calm manner, trying not to freak Alex out, failing immensely, but he was trying. Alex finally looked at Reaper, who was still in the suit he was wearing during the ceremony, meaning neither of them had time to change out of the formal wear. 

“Okay… What’s so bad about the crystal I have?” Alex was cautious about what he said, not wanting to make the Commander angry by any means. Reaper simply sighed and stood up, making Alex freeze. Reaper moved to a painting that hung on the back wall before turning around to face Alex, who was still gripping the sides of the chair.

“Nothing is bad, it’s just... _very_ powerful.” Alex’s eyes widened, now he knew why all those people were looking at him, they were jealous that he got a powerful crystal.

“But-... But I’m not strong, I’m the weakest recruit here! I don’t… I don’t deserve the crystal.” Alex tried to hold back the tears that were threatening his eyes. He heard footsteps coming from in front of him, but all he could do was look at his lap and hope to hell he didn’t cry in front of the Commander.

“You, Alexander Reid, are one of the strongest recruits I have ever seen in my time as Commander. You are also the first to receive a white crystal, the first in The Crystal Bearers history.” as Reaper spoke, Alex looked up, Reaper was leaning on his desk, facing the left wall of the office. He had his arms crossed in front of him, his suit jacket almost bursting at the seams with how large his arms were. Alex let his mind wander for a few seconds to scandalous thoughts before Reaper continued. 

“You will need to learn how to use the crystal quickly. It’s not a defensive crystal, or an offensive crystal. It’s in a category of its own. You will go through an intense program, you will be the only one in the program. I will personally train you throughout the program, and you will not complete the program until you have mastered as many crystals as possible.”

“What? But… I’m nothing special, I completed the maze, so what? Other people have done it before me. What makes a weakling like me so unique? So worthy of this special program?” Alex stood up as he spoke, he was angry. Not at Reaper, but at himself. For talking that way about himself, he didn’t believe a word that he was saying, but he was trying to get out of the special treatment. 

“You could’ve picked anyone else! Why not Simon? He’s the best of the recruits, he’s strong, tall, intelligent. He’s so much better at everything.”

“That’s why I chose you. You don’t stand out in any way, other than your stealth and agility. You’re short, not very strong, however, you are very intelligent, you can find a way out of situations in the blink of an eye. You can problem solve like no other and I want to enhance that. I want you to have everything you see in Simon and more.” Alex was taken aback by the commander’s words, it was almost as if Reaper wasn’t as emotionless as everyone thought. Alex felt honoured to see this side of his leader, Reaper was letting Alex see a more vulnerable side. 

“Okay. I… I will train harder than ever. Thank you, Sir.” Alex couldn’t help but smile a little. The entire time he had been with The Crystal Bearers, it had been awful. He was put down by the other recruits because of his height, and lack of strength, this was the first time that someone had said that they believed in him. 

“You are dismissed, Alexander Reid.” Reaper nodded at Alex, slightly motioning toward the door. Alex turned to leave, but as he got to the door, he stopped and turned to face Reaper.

“Have a good night, Sir.” After Alex spoke, he slipped out of the room and into the hallway. The only lights that were on were the emergency lights, leaving Alex with little to no light. He sighed as he walked through the halls to his room, he started to wonder what the time was, or if something had happened in the time he had been in the commander’s office. He concluded that it was just later than he thought, because if something did happen, Reaper would be the first to know about it. 

Once Alex reached his dorm, he looked at the small electronic clock that sat on his desk. The clock told him it was nearly 1 in the morning, once he found out the time, a wave of exhaustion hit him all at once. Alex did his nightly routine, only skipped a few steps and decided to just get into more comfortable clothing to sleep in. Once he got into bed, he blacked out, he hadn’t even laid down properly. He fell into a deep sleep, and he welcomed it.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Sorry for not posting a chapter in a while, I just haven't been motivated to write anything. But now I am full of inspiration! I have been writing so much in the past few days and I finally finished this chapter! I hope you enjoy reading! 
> 
> Feedback is always welcome!


	5. New Leadership

# [Chapter Four - New Leadership]

* * *

**~10 years later~**

Alex, now a 25-year-old, stood at a good 6’2” and had almost tripled in strength. After the commander spoke with him, he stuck to his word. Alex trained harder than he ever had, and it paid off. However, he had not changed in the slightest, he simply had more control of his emotions. Alex had also accumulated a number of crystals, more than anyone else had, he was second only to Simon, who hadn’t changed either. The only change between Alex and Simon is that Alex can easily take Simon on, there were multiple occasions where Alex had sent Simon to the Medical Centre, Alex certainly reveled in those moments but not for long as he got torn into by Reaper. 

Alex was feeling nervous, as it was the day that Reaper retired and anointed someone else as Commander, and a Second in Command. Everyone was brought to the Auditorium, the same one from when Alex received his first crystal, only there were more people sitting on stage, with a lectern in the middle of the stage towards the front with a small microphone protruding up from it. Alex didn’t recognise the other people sitting on the stage, other than Reaper. He had no idea there were so many people with authority within the Group, well, The Crystal Bearers were more of an Empire than a Group at this point as they had grown significantly over the years.

The auditorium silenced once Reaper stepped up to the lectern. Reaper had aged well, now in his mid-60s, he still looked young and well enough to work for years longer. No one knew why he was retiring, but Alex had his suspicions. He suspected that Reaper had fallen ill with something that couldn’t be cured, either that or he wanted someone younger to lead, someone with fresh ideas. There was no telling which one it was, unless Reaper told everyone.

“Good evening everyone, I wanted to thank you for attending this ceremony as I hand over my leadership role to someone else. I will also be assigning someone as a Second in Command, as one person just isn’t enough anymore. As you all might know, we have grown exponentially over the past year. Although we always had a large group of people, we have now doubled in size. I wanted to thank all of you for your dedication to The Bearers, to me, to each other, and to yourselves. Now, enough of the sentimentals, it’s time to announce your new commander.”

Alex froze, he was more than a little nervous. He’s been waiting just over 2 months for this to happen, he almost hoped that he’d get a leadership position, but doubted he would. Alex was a leader, he just lacked the confidence. He didn’t think that people would listen to what he had to say, they hadn’t in the past, so he presumed they wouldn’t listen to him now.

“I would like to invite the new Commander up to the stage once I call their name. Could Simon Baird please come up to the stage.” 

The auditorium almost exploded in applause, Simon made his way to the stage. Alex was rooted in his seat, staring wide eyed at Simon as he walked towards Reaper, a smile plastered across both of their faces. Reaper gave Simon the Commander’s Brooch, and they shook hands. Simon then walked to the side of the stage, he then stood and admired to brooch. Alex's eyes never left Simon, they were almost glued to him. 

“And now it’s time for the Second in Command to be announced.” As Reaper spoke, the Auditorium silenced as everyone waited in anticipation. Alex looked at Reaper, finally drawing his eyes away from Simon. 

“Could Alexander Reid please come to the stage.” 

Alex froze, and so did everyone else. Even Simon, who was still standing at the side of the stage, looked up in shock. Alex stood up, mustering all the confidence he possibly could as he walked to the stage. No one was clapping, no one was cheering, it was dead silent. Once on the stage, Alex made his way to Reaper, who was smiling wider than he was with Simon.

“Congratulations Alexander, you are now Second in Command.” Reaper spoke and handed Alex a brooch that looked similar to Simon’s, but had the Roman numeral for 2 on it rather than the 1.

“Thank you Sir.” Alex said after shaking Reaper’s hand. He then made his way to stand next to Simon.

“Never expected for you to be chosen. You’re not exactly leader material.” Simon sneered at Alex, Simon clearly didn’t like the idea of having to work with Alex.

“It’s not your decision to make, Simon, it’s Reaper’s. You’ll just have to deal with someone who ‘isn’t leadership material’.” Alex retorted, his confidence was growing, he had never felt so powerful. Simon huffed in annoyance which made Alex feel oddly proud. 

“I present to you, the new leaders of The Crystal Bearers!” Reaper almost yelled, but he was more excited than annoyed. The crowd immediately erupted, although not for Alex, they were cheering for Simon. Alex clipped the brooch to his suit jacket, as did Simon, which made it official. Alex and Simon were the new leaders of The Crystal Bearers. 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Time for chapter 4! I am working through the chapters, slowly but surely. I also might not be posting a chapter for a while, I have a maths exam next week, and a music assessment.. so my time will be focused on that. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter! Again, Feedback is always welcome, and appreciated.


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